


The Writer and The Cafe

by NerdOfTooMuch



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Smut, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-05 06:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6694090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdOfTooMuch/pseuds/NerdOfTooMuch





	1. Chapter 1

Alfred locked his apartment door behind him as he walked down a flight of stairs and headed for the street to wander around his new surroundings. He moved to London because the second book was going to take place in the United Kingdom and his editor thought it would be best to experience it personally. As he reached the sidewalk he began to look around at the small shops that were close to his apartment complex. He was thankful that his brother Matthew, who is also his editor, was able to find this place for him. He was in London, but it wasn't right in the middle of the busiest parts of the city, it was more of a small town. There were a few one lane roads that would have a car pass by you every minute or two, but the best way to travel was on foot or by bike.

Taking his phone out, Alfred began to take pictures of the road and the small shops he was passing by so that he could possibly use them as a reference later on. He had been walking around the area taking pictures for about half an hour when something caught his eye. It was a small cat that had an orangish-brown spot covering part of its face, a similar colored tail and the rest of its body being white. Bending down to pet the cat Alfred took a quick picture of it before running his hand over its head and listening to it purr from his touch.

The cat lightly licked his hand before it walked down a side street and began to paw at a closed door wanting to go into it. Alfred walked over to the door and saw that the word "Café" was written onto it, and he looked down to the cat and saw it staring back up at him. Chuckling at the cute cat, he opened the door and entered the building and quietly closed the door behind him. The room he entered was bright and welcoming, unlike the small damp street he had to walk through to get to it. To his right was a display full of pastries and sweets as well as a counter with a few machines unknown to the American, on his left were small tables and chairs to sit and enjoy your drink and food as well as large windows with the view of the street.

"Hello," called a voice from his right behind the counter. Alfred turned and found a blonde man who was a bit shorter than him, with bright eyes with a matching smile. "How can I help you?"

"Oh," Alfred murmured as he began to stare at the Englishman. "Well, I'm actually new around here and accidentally found this place. A cat was trying to get in so I opened to door for it and came in."

The Englishman sighed deeply as he began to look around along the floor as he muttered, "She needs to learn to stay in the apartment rather than coming here."

Alfred did his best to stifle his laugh as he said, "So 'she' was your cat, I'm sorry I let her in if she wasn't allowed to."

The worker looked up at him and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, happens often," he said as his eyes widened a bit. "I'm sorry I haven't asked your name yet." Smiling, he held his hand out and said, "Its okay dude, my name is Alfred, Alfred Jones." The Englishman smiled back and took Alfred's hand and shook it, "Arthur Kirkland, I own this café."

\---------

Arthur told Alfred to feel free to look around the café as he hunted for his pet cat and that he would serve him in a moment. As he looked around he noticed that there were a few people scattered about drinking tea, Alfred found a bookshelf and walked over to it and scanned the titles looking for any of his favorite works or anything new from authors he liked. As he got to the second shelf a smile was brought to his face as he pulled a book off of the shelf and opened it. The book was his, the first book he wrote and had published, it had become very popular and well known in many countries.

"Have you read it?" Alfred turned to find Arthur beside him looking at the book in his hands with a smile on his face. With a nod, he closed the book to place it back on the shelf but the Englishman had taken from his hands. "Its one of my favorites honestly reminds me of Sherlock Holmes, just much more modern," he mumbled as a light blush dusted onto his cheeks.

"Really?" Alfred asked with a knowing smirk. "I can see where you're coming from but I would have to say that Bear is nothing like Sherlock, for the main character like him he is much more hero like, going around and saving people."

Arthur nodded his head as he placed the book back onto the shelf and went behind the counter waiting for Alfred to come over. "So is there anything I can get for you?"

"Well, may I asked what hours this place is open?" Alfred asked as his eyes continued to wander around the room.

"All week, from 8 am to 7 pm."

"Do you make coffee?"

Scoffing, the Englishman shook his head. "No, just tea. And not your American tea either." Alfred looked at him with his head slightly tilted to the side confused. "How did you know I was an American?"

"Your accent you git. It's easy to tell," he said as he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Alfred chuckled as he poked between Arthur's thick eyebrows, "No need to be grumpy." Arthur swatted his hand away and glared at him, his eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"If you don't need anything you can leave," Arthur nearly growled between clenched teeth as he pointed towards the door. Alfred was going to retort but his stomach growled loudly and his face became flushed with embarrassment as he saw the smile that flashed onto Arthur's face.

"Maybe I'll buy a snack," he muttered as he looked away from the café owner and looked at the pastries. "I'll have whatever is your favorite." Arthur wasn't the biggest fan of sweets so he chose a small cake that was popular with the customers and his employee Francis.

Arthur placed the cake and fork in front of Alfred and asked, "Anything else?"

Alfred smiled and looked a bit guilty as he asked, "Well, may I have a glass of ice water?" Sighing and running his fingers through his hair, Arthur nodded his head and went back to the kitchen and fixed the American a glass of water. "That'll be £3.76 Alfred." He paid and made his way to an open table and sat his snack and water down. Alfred went back to the bookshelf and grabbed 'his' book and sat down.

A few minutes of skimming through the book and reading the side notes that someone wrote in it Alfred felt eyes on him but before he could look around to find them, they came to him. Alfred looked up as Arthur sat down at his table and looked at the American curiously and asked, "May I ask you a question?"


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred looked at the Briton with a curious look and nodded his head giving the man permission to ask whatever he wanted. Arthur nodded and looked at the book in Alfred's hands again and asked, "Did you lie to me earlier?" Pouting, he shook his head signaling that he hadn't and asked, "Why do you ask that?"

He took the book from Alfred's hand and looked at the American, "Because you look as if you are reading it now." Alfred couldn't help but laugh wildly as he clutched his stomach trying to breathe in air. Tears formed in his eyes as he looked at Arthur, that man will never know how many times Alfred has had to read his own book. For someone to assume that he hasn't ever read his own book brought more tears to his eyes and he began to wipe them away. "Arthur, I promise you that I have read that book more times than you can imagine."

Arthur glared at him as he gritted his teeth trying to stay patient and calm. "If that's so you don't mind me quizzing you then?"

Placing his elbow onto the table and resting his jaw on his clenched hand, Alfred looked at Arthur with excited eyes and nodded his head. Seeing the challenging look in his eyes Arthur smiled and welcomed it, "Okay, well since you know the main character tell me his dead sister's name."

"She never got one, their parents were too devastated to give her a name and wanted to forget the experience." Alfred stated correctly as he looked at his 'opponent' triumphantly.

Arthur being the stubborn Englishman he is continued to bombard the author with questions and Alfred answered them all correctly and happily. He was surprised that Arthur was so into his book and realized that he was probably the one who left all of the side notes in the margins. Arthur sat back in his seat and stared at Alfred with wide, curious eyes. "I can't believe you know so much about the book." He commented with a warm smile across his face.

"Of course, I would," Alfred chuckled to himself as he looked at the worn book.

"Why do you say it like that?" The Briton asked and Alfred froze trying to think of and excuse instead of 'I wrote it.' Thankfully before he could answer Arthur looked longingly at the book and murmured, "I would love to meet Mr. Smith one day and ask where he got the idea for the book."

Alfred shook his head at the name, he had used a pen name because the people who published his book thought that his personality didn't quite fit with the writing. "Well aren't you excited, though?" He asked at he looked up at the dazed Englishman who's mind had wondered.

"Excited for what?" He asked curiously.

"Haven't you heard? His second book is going to be coming out relatively soon," Alfred said with a small smile on his face. He almost had it done but just needed to go back and add more detail about the scenery and places around London. No one other than Alfred and the company knew that they were going to be publishing so soon but he felt the need to tell Arthur, he liked seeing his excited and smiling face.

And Arthur didn't disappoint, his eyes grew wide with happiness as he smiled brightly. "Please tell me your kidding," Arthur asked as he grabbed Alfred hands, looking as if he was ready to jump around like an excited little girl. A blush quickly spread across Alfred's face as he pulled his hands away from the others, his heart was racing just from the slight contact. He knew that the Brit was attractive but he needed to calm down, "Yeah, my brother is his editor and told me that Mr. Smith was almost done with the book."

Arthur saw the blush on the Americans face and realized what he had done when Alfred's hands were pulled from his own but he couldn't focus on that when he heard what Alfred had said. "Your brother works with Mr. Smith? Have you met him? What's he like?" Before he could ask anything else Alfred's hand covered Arthur's mouth and he shushed him. "Go take care of your customers Arthur," Alfred mumbled wearily as he pointed to the couple waiting by the counter.

"I'll be right back," Arthur frantically said as he ran behind the counter. Waiting until the Brits back was turned Alfred made a dash for the door and made his way back down the street towards his apartment. He couldn't shake the feeling that Arthur left with him, Alfred hadn't felt this attracted to someone in a long while. That's why he had to leave, he felt that if he had stayed any longer he might have told Arthur that he had written the book.

Alfred didn't realize that he had made it to his apartment complex until he nearly ran into a street pole. He couldn't believe that the Brit distracted him so much, especially when he needed to focus on his book. As he unlocked his door Alfred could hear the scratching of that animal on the other side wanting to see his owner. As he opened the door the fluffy tan and brown cat tackled his leg and meowed angrily, wanting his afternoon dinner. "Jeeze Freedom, I'm starting to wonder if you're really just 'fluffy' anymore," he mumbled to the cat as it ran towards the kitchen for his food.

Pulling the bag of cat food off of the top of the fridge, Alfred poured some into a bowl for the cat. It has started to purr and rub its head on Alfred's leg signaling that it wanted its food and was happy that it was finally getting it. Alfred chuckled at his cat until he heard a loud crash on the balcony of his apartment and quickly turned to find Arthur's cat standing over a broken potted plant.

Before he could walk over to it Freedom ran over to the female cat and tackled her. "Woah, Freedom don't play so roughly dude," Alfred yelled as he walked over to his cat and pulled him off the other. She looked shaken up but okay which Alfred was thankful for, he mumbled, "Why are you here sweetheart? You shouldn't have followed me home." He began to pet the cat and she purred underneath his hand, Alfred smiled and picked the cat up and carried her into the kitchen, setting her on the counter. "Would you like some milk?" He asked the female cat and she pawed at his arm wanting the milk. He fixed her a small dish and placed it on the counter and watched her lap it up. "Well, I'm going to have to take you back tomorrow sweetheart," Alfred sighed deeply thinking about going back to the café and froze, he would have to see Arthur tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur quickly tended to his customers wanting to get back to Alfred and get some answers about Mr. Smith. As soon as he was done he turned to the table the American had been at just moments before and found that he was gone. His shoulders relaxed and he let out a deep breath, he believed that Alfred must have just been playing a game with him, being a tease, seeing how excited he was about the book just gave him an opportunity to be entertained.

That was all Arthur could think about until closing time, but when it came time to leave he couldn't find his cat Biscuit. He called for her and searched every nook and cranny still unable to locate her. He then remembered that Alfred had let her in, she might have followed him out. Arthur knew there was no way of her coming back, she probably likes Alfred more and will stay with him. Everyone and everything always leave him in the end, Arthur hated it so much.

"Damn it," he muttered as he felt the tears slide down his warm cheeks. He wiped them away as he closed the door behind him and began to walk back to his apartment, on his way back there was a growl of thunder through the sky and it began to pour down rain. Arthur gritted his teeth in anger and ran to his apartment, one thing after another, nothing was on his side anymore. He was thankful for the rain, at least it could hide the tears that were cascading down his face. He made it to the apartment and began to walk up the stairs, he tried to wipe the rain off of his face but he continued to feel his tears fall. As he got to his apartment and walked to the front of his door ready to take a relaxing shower, but as he began to unlock it his neighbor's door slammed open and he heard, "Sweetheart I know you want to leave but if I lose you Arthur will kill me!"

Turning towards the open door with wide eyes he saw Alfred step out following his cat Biscuit. Alfred looked up and found Arthur staring at him in shock, with tears falling down his cheeks. "Artie? Are you okay? You're completely drenched, dude. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He asked as he walked over to the Brit and began to wipe away his tears.

Arthur smacked his hands away angrily and picked his cat up from the ground and walked into his apartment, slamming and locking the door behind him. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down and sat in front of the door, hugging his cat. She meowed in his arms and pawed at his cheek, seeing the tears that continued to fall.

He didn't understand what was happening, too many things were going on and he felt too overwhelmed. "Artie," he mumbled to himself. He couldn't believe the damn American called him that! Letting go of Biscuit he jumped up, unlocked his door and running out to confront Alfred. But instead of knocking loudly on his neighbor's door, he accidentally slammed his own door into Alfred's face.

Alfred had been standing outside Arthur's door unsure of what to do about the situation he was in. He didn't want the Brit to be angry with him, he wasn't one hundred percent sure why either, but he wanted to make sure that Arthur was okay. He was in shock about a lot of things at the moment and was unsure of what to do, first, he finds out that Arthur is his neighbor, then he finds the man soaking wet from the rain, finally he sees that Arthur was crying. Seeing him crying, see in the pain across his face sent a knife through his heart.

Before he could figure out what he was going to do he found Arthur's door being slammed into his face. He gripped his face as he felt tears form in the corners of his eyes and fell to the ground. "Alfred," Arthur choked out in both shock and worry as he knelt on the ground and cupped Alfred's cheek. He shook his head at Arthur, not wanting the Brit to feel guilty but then he felt the blood beginning to run down his face. "Shit," he grumbled as he pulled his shirt up to his nose to stop the blood.

"Alfred, I'm so sorry," Arthur mumbled with wide, guilt filled eyes. Alfred sat there for a moment before standing up and grabbing Arthur's hand. He pulled the Brit off of the ground and pulled him into the open apartment and closed the door behind him. "I'm going to borrow your bathroom Artie," he said as he headed off then the bathroom, he knew where it was due to all of the apartments being built the same.

He went into the bathroom and washed the blood from his face and hands as he stood over the sink. Alfred took a deep breath to calm himself down, and after a moment, he grabbed a few pieces of toilet paper and placed them in his nose. He walked back out and found that Arthur was pacing in his living room muttering to himself nervously. He leaned against the wall and watched the man with a small smile on his face. It was weird to see that someone who barely knew him cared so much but that's when it hit Alfred, he felt the same way, he cared too much for some guy he didn't know.

"Hey Artie," Alfred called from the hallway he was standing in. Arthur had stopped pacing and looked back at Alfred with wide eyes before he busted out laughing. He was laughing from both the rolls of tissue in Alfred's nose and the way his voice sounded because of it. The American stayed silent as he watched Arthur laugh, he liked seeing tears of laughter rather than the tears of anger and pain he saw before.

He walked over to Arthur and wiped away his tears before poking him between his brows again. Alfred couldn't help but smile as he saw the Brit pout angrily at his actions. Arthur smacked his hand away again and asked angrily, "Why do you keep doing that you bloody wanker?"

"Cause you're cute when you're angry," Alfred said with a warm smile but froze after the words left his mouth. He looked at the door and turned towards it and mumbled, "N-Never mind, forget I said anything." The American left Arthur's apartment, closing the door behind him leaving the Brit to his thoughts.

Arthur sat down on his couch and buried his face in his hands, he could feel the heat from his face warming his cold skin. He was unsure that he heard Alfred correctly, he wanted to deny it, but he knew that he couldn't. He couldn't lie to himself, especially when his heart was beating a mile a minute.


	4. Chapter 4

Alfred had no idea what he was going to do about Arthur. He scratched his head with panic as he thought about what he had said to the Brit, its fairly normal for him to call people and things 'cute', 'hun', or 'sweetheart', but he was an American. It may not be like that in London so he began to figure out how he was going to face Arthur from then on. The problem was that the longer he thought about Arthur the more he focused on the man rather than his problem. Alfred lets a small smile slip past his lips as he remembered Arthur's laugh, his surprised expression, when he was angry, and the one that made his heart beat faster was the Brit's excited face. Alfred snapped back to reality and let out a deep breath trying to focus but found it difficult and he needed a distraction.

As he walked by a hallway mirror he noticed the blood on his shirt and decided to strip it off and throw it into his laundry hamper. As he went back to his living room he swung by the kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge before going to his couch and plopping into it. After opening the bottle and taking a swig of it Alfred placed it on the coffee table and reached for his laptop that sat beside the couch in its case. He pulled the computer out and opened it on his lap, finding where he last left of editing his chapter. After seeing a few of the back streets he could go back and rewrite some of the action scenes that he had partially described in this book. Alfred smiled as he silently thanked his brother for the idea of coming to London.

After becoming completely distracted by his writing Alfred hadn't realized what time it was. He was shocked to find that it was 3 in the morning as he closed the computer and laid it on his couch. As soon as he went to his bedroom, slipped his pants off, and got into the bed Arthur came back into his mind. With a groan, Alfred rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face into his pillow. As he fell asleep Alfred began to think about how he was going to face the Brit tomorrow, rather than if he should.

\-------------------------------------

Arthur woke up after a restless sleep and realized why he had slept all night. He felt hot all over, his nose was runny, and his throat hurt. Knowing exactly what was wrong pissed him off even now, it was all because he ran home in the rain last night. Groaning as he slowly rolled out of the bed, he kept his blanket around him as he went to get his phone in the kitchen. As he pulled the phone off of the charger he texted Francis and tell him to take the day off. After he sent the text he left the phone and went to the kitchen to make himself tea, but as he passed by his hallway he remembered about Alfred from last night and felt his temperature rise and he was hoping it was just a fever.

Shaking the American from his thoughts he went to the kitchen and made his tea, then went to the living room and flipped on the television. He switched it on the news and sipped on his tea when he realized how late it was. Arthur rarely got ill so he was bewildered by the time on the corner of the screen. After he got over his initial shock he began to look for Biscuit to feed her but he found no sign of his cat. Then he remembered where he found her last time and groaned in annoyance when he thought about talking to Alfred. But being the person he was Arthur knew he had to face the American eventually and decided he had better get it over with before he had too much time to think about it.

\------

Alfred woke up with a start as he heard loud, repetitive knocks coming from his front door. Quickly throwing the blankets off of his bed he ran to the door saying, "One moment," as he unlocked it. To his amazement, his found a miserable looking Arthur standing outside his door who looked as if he was about to pass out.

"Woah, Artie are ya okay?" Alfred asked concerned for the Brit.

Arthur sniffed and pinched his nose with an irritated sigh and said, "No, but I will be eventually."

"Are you sure? I can make some homemade soup or stew for you. You honestly look like you need it dude," Alfred said with a reassuring smile.

"Honestly, I'll be fine but thank you for your concern," Arthur replied politely and waved it off. "But I am here looking for Biscuit. Have you seen her?"

Alfred turned around and scanned his living room for the female cat and saw no sign of her. He turned back to the Brit and said sheepishly, "I don't see her but I just woke up so I still have to look around."

Arthur looked up in shock and embarrassment. "Alfred I'm so sorry if I woke you up, that was terrible if me to do."

Alfred waved it off with a bright smile. "Nah it's okay dude, I needed to wake up anyways. Come on in and I'll look for her," he said as he opened the door and left to go and check his room. Arthur entered the apartment and closed the door behind him when he realized that Alfred was only wearing a pair of boxers. He felt a blush creep him his neck and warm his ears as he looked away and checked the bathroom for his cat and still didn't find her.

As he walked back to the living room he found that Alfred had slipped on a pair of pants but still no shirt. He wasn't going to complain, though, he was thankful the American put something else on.

"I didn't find her dude, and I can't seem to find Freedom either," he mumbled as he scratched the back of his neck from worry. Alfred's eyes widened as he held a finger up in the air, signaling for Arthur to wait.

Alfred walked down the hall and slowly opened the already cracked door to his washing machine and drier. He smiled and looked at Arthur, holding a finger to his lips he waved the Brit over and pointed into the small room.

As he walked over Arthur couldn't help but smile even though he felt sick. Biscuit and Alfred's cat Freedom were cuddled next to each other and sleeping peacefully on top of the American's washer. Alfred and Arthur gave each other a look saying to leave them alone and went back to the living room to laugh at their discovery.


End file.
